Batman ’66 #4 Review: Penguins in Paradise

The craze and camp of the 1960s TV Batman continues in this week’s installment of Batman ’66. Check out our review of this week’s dangerous and dynamic adventure!

Welcome back fans of freedom and fairness. Batman and Robin are back to take on that persistent perilous, and pompous Penguin.  The reading experience is going to be more traditional this week as the story is not branded with the DC² imprint. We also have a change is storytellers. While Jeff Parker remains on as writer, he is joined for this story by Ty Templeton on art duties. Will these changes derail this steady ship?

Positives

Jeff Parker must have watched every episode of the original show before taking on this title, because here we’re given a plot that is so perfectly goofy I can see it translating to the small screen. Here, the Penguin creates an iceberg, has it declared a sovereign nation, and floats it in the middle of Gotham Harbor. It’s a delightfully over-the-top scenario that lends itself to a lot of humor.

Also, Parker nails the Penguin’s dialogue. The word usage and cadence of each statement, complete with the trademark squawking, is spot on.

Negatives

Ty Templeton’s art is a step down from what Jonathan Case was doing. While the art on a whole may not necessarily bad, it pales in comparison to what came last week. Whereas Case was detailed, energetic and expressive, the art this week is very simple and, at times inconsistent. There were a few panels that looked very good, but it made the rest of the issue’s mediocrity more apparent.

Those that enjoyed the way DC made use of the digital format in the first arc are going to be disappointed. This week is just a straight-up digital comic with guided view – no fun panel transitions animation.

Verdict  (3/5)

Batman ’66 continues to be a delightful read thanks to Jeff Parker’s imaginative scripts. Unfortunately, the title stumbles this week due to mediocre artwork and subpar presentation.

As always, you can comment down below and don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow our Twitter @DCComicsNews!